Brining or Sprinkling the Fish
Should You Brine the Fish or Sprinkle it?
Prior to smoking the fish or meat it will need
to be prepared with salt and sugar. Other
items such as herbs and spices, even rum
can be added too, but it starts with salt and
sugar.
Use only plain non-iodised salt or sea salt.
Iodine will cause problems with the final
product.
The best sugar to use is brown sugar.
Brining involves immersing the fish in a liquid
consisting of a mixture of salt and sugar
dissolved in water.
For smaller fish the brining time can be as
short as a couple of hours although four is a
good starting point. Bigger fillets or whole fish
will need to stay in the brine overnight.
A good place to start is with the following
mixture -
1 cup of plain salt
1 cup of brown sugar
2 litres of water
Adjust the quantities to suit the amount of fish to be brined.
The amount of sugar can even be doubled or sugar can be applied to the
fillets just prior to smoking.
While many prefer to brine, adding a 50/50 mixture of salt and brown sugar to
the fillets just before smoking will also do the trick. Better still leave the rubbed
fillets in a container in the fridge overnight (never use metal) and it will form a
brine. Rinse off and dry the fillets thoroughly before smoking.
TOP:
Salt and brown sugar mixture rubbed
into the fish fillets.
MIDDLE:
A brine is formed after being left in
the fridge overnight. Wash thoroughly and
then dry before smoking.
BOTTOM:
These fillets have been rubbed
with salt and sugar then sprinkled with
additional herbs just before smoking.
